1. Description of Prior Art
Hitherto, the agitator employed in a vacuum cleaner suction nozzle employs an electric motor disposed in a cylindrical agitator housing to reduce and compactize the agitator. The electric motor for the agitator includes a stator formed on an inner periphery of a metallic barrel and a rotor disposed inside the stator with the agitator housing enclosing the metallic barrel. The rotor is coupled with an output shaft for rotation together therewith, and a rotational output of the output shaft is transmitted through a reduction gear unit to a driven wheel that is drivingly engaged at its outer periphery with the agitator housing to drive the latter. According to the prior art, a bearing for rotatably supporting the agitator housing is mounted externally on an outer periphery of the cylindrical casing.
As discussed above, in the prior art electric motor assembly, the bearing for rotatably supporting the agitator housing has been mounted on the outer periphery of the metallic barrel. The metallic barrel is generally shaped and manufactured by the use of a press work and, accordingly, cannot be made to a highly accurate dimensional precision. The consequence is that a problem occurs that the bearing cannot be accurately fitted, resulting in a trouble in rotation of the agitator.
2. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to an electric motor assembly and, more particularly, to an electric motor assembly of a type including an electric motor built in a driven member such as, for example, an agitator in a suction nozzle for a vacuum cleaner.